You are talking true albacore pacific offshore, correct? I would agree with Sean, an 8wt might be a little light to get those birdfins up from the depths especially if the captain is not going to stop the engine for each hookup. Maybe even a 12

Don't think there's too much C&R in true albacore fishing... there wouldn't for me up to the legal limit. That is some of the best stuff I've eaten from the sea, whether served tataki style (original Japanese seared / sushi middle with light ponzu sauce and chopped onion wafer thin), on the grill, or even home-canned with a little olive oil, cider vinegar and pickling spice in mason jars. It takes months to be able to stand tin can tuna after eating this stuff.

I don't think they are endangered, if so I would lay off and probably try to solve the chinook on the fly enigma closer to shore or something.

As tasty as these things are, no, i'm not releasing them, only if they're too small. c'est moi et mon pere, so stopping and/or chasing is not a concern. they're starting to come in pretty close, around the 250-300 ft range, water's warming up a titch. just gonna troll around with a couple teasers and look for a feeding school. toss a fly at the smaller ones and hold on for the ride Any fly suggestions? will a large clouser type work? what's good here?

albie on 8 wt: Sorry, I assumed when you said you were fishing for "albies", you meant the false albacore species commonly referred to as "albies". Since no one would eat a false albacore (albie), I expressed my surprise, that's all.